Irish Times says a court quashed the A5 block on a €2bn road; TheJournal.ie says the road is going ahead and names the climate law that stopped it
Belfast's Court of Appeal has overturned the ruling that halted the A5, Northern Ireland's biggest road project. Three Irish outlets report it. Only one says why the road was stopped. Only one gives a cost.
What is agreed. All three reports we hold say the same thing happened. A court ruling that halted the A5 upgrade has been overturned in Belfast, and the road can go ahead.
What each leads with. The three headlines tell the story in three ways:
| Outlet | Leads on | Cost given | Why it was blocked |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Irish Times | the court: "quashes ruling blocking upgrade" | €2 billion | not stated |
| RTÉ News | the road: "can proceed" | none | not stated |
| TheJournal.ie | the road: "set for major upgrade" | none | "an apparent conflict with climate laws" |
The size. RTÉ calls it "Northern Ireland's biggest roads project". The Irish Times calls it the "largest ever road project" and is the only one to put a price on it, €2 billion. No other report confirms that figure.
The climate question. Only TheJournal.ie says the High Court first rejected the plan over climate law. Even it hedges, calling the conflict "apparent". The other two do not say why the road was stopped.
What is not settled. - Why the appeal judges disagreed with the High Court. None of the three reports gives their reasoning. - Who brought the original challenge, and whether they will appeal again. No report names them. - What the ruling means for Northern Ireland's climate law. Nothing we hold says. - Road safety. None of the three reports gives a figure for deaths on the A5.
This story is about whether Northern Ireland can build a new main road from the Irish border in Co Tyrone to Derry, and whether its climate law stands in the way.
How it got here. The A5 runs through the west of Northern Ireland. It starts at the border near Aughnacloy, goes through Omagh and Strabane, and ends in Derry. It is the main route from Dublin to the north-west. A rebuilt road was promised in 2006, at the St Andrews talks that restored power-sharing at Stormont. The Irish government said it would help pay for it, because the road serves Donegal as well as the North.
The road has been stopped in court before. In 2012 the High Court in Belfast quashed an earlier version of the scheme on environmental grounds. Since then it has been redesigned, approved again by Stormont ministers, and challenged again by objectors, including landowners along the route.
In 2022 the Northern Ireland Assembly passed the Climate Change Act, which sets a legal target of net zero emissions by 2050. According to TheJournal.ie, the High Court later rejected the latest A5 plan because of an apparent conflict with that law. The other reports we hold do not give a reason.
Who is involved. Stormont's Department for Infrastructure is the body that promotes the road and approves it. The Irish government has promised money towards it. Objectors have brought the court challenges. Campaigners in Tyrone have argued for years that the old road is dangerous.
What is at stake. If the scheme stands, Northern Ireland gets what RTÉ calls its biggest roads project. The Irish Times puts the cost at €2 billion. If it falls again, the people promoting it go back to the start. Whatever the judges said, the ruling will also be read for what it means for future projects under the climate law.
Where it stands. The Court of Appeal has overturned the block and the upgrade can proceed. We do not hold the judges' reasons.
What is being argued about
- Belfast's Court of Appeal overturns the ruling that halted the A5 upgrade
- Whether climate law was why the road was first blocked
- The cost, put at €2 billion by one outlet only
- Who brought the challenge and why the judges ruled as they did, which none of the reports says
Claims and verdicts
Belfast appeals court quashes ruling blocking upgrade of A5 road
Open this report in The AI Times →
Read it at The Irish Times →
What we have measured
Actor framing The release is framed as a joint agreement, with no pressure mentioned ×1Actor named Names the residents as the ones who blocked the road ×1Actor named killers named as 'loyalist gunmen'; verb 'shot dead' ×1With no actor named construction no actor named for the theft or the driving in the standfirst ×1
Outlet profile in The AI Times →
R
RTÉ News
A5 upgrade can proceed following Court of Appeal ruling
Open this report in The AI Times →
Read it at RTÉ News →
What we have measured
Abstraction as the actor the dispute acts and no one in it is named ×1Account taken as default the police description of the crowd as 'hostile' is carried with no other account ×1Accuracy the Slovenia entry in the country list repeats Austria's name ×1Active voice offender Donaldson is named as the one who did the abuse, in the active voice. ×1
Outlet profile in The AI Times →
T
TheJournal.ie
Belfast appeals court quashes ruling blocking upgrade of A5 road
Open this report in The AI Times →
Read it at The Irish Times →
What we have measured
Actor framing The release is framed as a joint agreement, with no pressure mentioned ×1Actor named Names the residents as the ones who blocked the road ×1Actor named killers named as 'loyalist gunmen'; verb 'shot dead' ×1With no actor named construction no actor named for the theft or the driving in the standfirst ×1
Outlet profile in The AI Times →
R
RTÉ News
A5 upgrade can proceed following Court of Appeal ruling
Open this report in The AI Times →
Read it at RTÉ News →
What we have measured
Abstraction as the actor the dispute acts and no one in it is named ×1Account taken as default the police description of the crowd as 'hostile' is carried with no other account ×1Accuracy the Slovenia entry in the country list repeats Austria's name ×1Active voice offender Donaldson is named as the one who did the abuse, in the active voice. ×1
Outlet profile in The AI Times →
Who wrote it
Coverage, outlet by outlet
Belfast appeals court quashes ruling blocking upgrade of A5 road
Open this report in The AI Times →
Read it at The Irish Times →
What we have measured
Actor framing The release is framed as a joint agreement, with no pressure mentioned ×1Actor named Names the residents as the ones who blocked the road ×1Actor named killers named as 'loyalist gunmen'; verb 'shot dead' ×1With no actor named construction no actor named for the theft or the driving in the standfirst ×1
Outlet profile in The AI Times →
—
A5 upgrade can proceed following Court of Appeal ruling
Open this report in The AI Times →
Read it at RTÉ News →
What we have measured
Abstraction as the actor the dispute acts and no one in it is named ×1Account taken as default the police description of the crowd as 'hostile' is carried with no other account ×1Accuracy the Slovenia entry in the country list repeats Austria's name ×1Active voice offender Donaldson is named as the one who did the abuse, in the active voice. ×1
Outlet profile in The AI Times →
— PUBLIC
ABC News (Australia)
ABC News (Australia)
🇦🇺AU ·
public broadcaster · public-service
What we have measured
Actor label and hedge The same man is called 'far-right' and named by his legal name. The act is hedged with 'allegedly', where the longer report states it flat. ×1A different count, stated flat one dead and 140 missing, unattributed, earliest of the four ×1Affected counted The only report to count the local people affected ×1Are the dead named one of the dead named, through a relative at the hospital ×1
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The Guardian
The Guardian
🇬🇧UK ·
newspaper · independent
What we have measured
Actor named Denial in the passive voice, with no one named as the person who dismissed it ×1Actor named names Israel as acting and states the death toll flat, with no source ×1Actor named Ireland named as the side that ended the conference ×1Allegation omitted the police statement is cut with an ellipsis where the other two reports carry the controlling or coercive behaviour allegation ×1
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C
CBC News
BBC News
BBC News
🇬🇧UK ·
public broadcaster · public-service
What we have measured
Dating and attribution 'It was not until Tuesday' is a judgement about delay, not a date. No other report we hold comments on how long the German finding took. ×1How hard the claim is stated Headline says the UN voted to adopt and replace; the last sentence of the report says the vote is non-binding ×1How hard the claim is stated The qualification arrives in the last sentence and is immediately overridden by an effect the report gives no source for. ×1Which figure is used States the replacement as done — the Assembly voted to replace the map — where the resolution urges states to use a different projection. ×1
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The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph
🇬🇧UK ·
newspaper · independent
What we have measured
Outlet profile in The AI Times →
The Times
The Times
🇬🇧UK ·
newspaper · independent
What we have measured
Outlet profile in The AI Times →